South Korea's Roh Moo-Hyun

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, February 23, 2003

A brief look at South Korea's new President Roh Moo-hyun, who took office Feb. 25:

Born into a poor farming family, 56-year-old Roh studied alone to pass the bar exam and built a reputation as a human rights lawyer during South Korea's military-backed rule in the 1980s.

In the Dec. 19 presidential elections, Roh narrowly defeated opposition leader Lee Hoi-chang, a conservative whose tough stance on North Korea may have cost him support among young voters who view him as too closely aligned with U.S. policy.

In the two months since his election, Roh has made clear he is not like most South Korean presidents. He has called for a more equal partnership with Washington and bluntly questioned the U.S. policy of pressuring North Korea over its nuclear programs.

During the campaign, he said he would not "kowtow" to the United States.

Washington has said it wants to resolve the standoff with the North's communist regime peacefully, but U.S. officials insist all options remain on the table.

Roh is urging direct negotiations between North Korea and the United States, and says South Korea would not support any U.S. plan to attack North Korea.

"We do not want war nor North Korea's collapse," Roh said recently.

Roh has pledged pursue his predecessor's campaign of engagement with North Korea, but no longer calls it by the name "sunshine" policy. In Tuesday's inauguration address, he unveiled it as a "policy for peace and prosperity."